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Fort Building Contest at National Lakeshore

INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE: Bring the family to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore’s Nature Play Zone for a nature fort building challenge on Saturday, September 14. Using natural and other materials found in the Nature Play Zone, see if you can build the sturdiest, longest, or best-looking fort. The winning builders will earn a small prize. The nature fort building contest is in celebration of the 37th anniversary of the Paul H. Douglas Center, where the Nature Play Zone is located. Space is limited. To participate in the contest, call 219-395-1821 to reserve a spot.

Over 1,000 children have used the Nature Play Zone since it opened in April, 2013. It’s a place where kids can safely engage in unstructured play in a natural setting. The park has added buckets, shovels, and sifters to the play zone to encourage creative play in the outdoors. While supplies last, families that use the play zone can even get a free nature exploration backpack so they can continue exploring nature when they return home. The backpack includes bug boxes, magnifying lens, journals and binoculars.

If you can’t participate in the contest, you can still enjoy the Nature Play Zone and the Douglas Center. Both are open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The center is located at 100 North Lake Street in the Miller section of Gary. For more information on this or other programs at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, contact the park’s information desk at 219-395-1882 or check the park website at www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit.

www.nps.gov/indu

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is part of the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.